Though not eligible to return until after this week’s game against the Green Bay Packers, Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain appears to be moving closer to his return to football.

Currently on the reserve physically unable to perform list as he recovers from a spinal cord contusion, McClain has been medically cleared to resume playing football, according to a report from The Sun. McClain suffered the injury last Dec. 9 against the Washington Redskins and hasn’t played since despite working out and attending meetings at the team’s Owings Mills facility.

McClain may resume practicing as early as next week and will have a 21-day window in which to practice once he steps back on the practice field. However, the sixth-year linebacker can be placed back on the 53-man roster sooner than that if the Ravens deem him ready.

“We’ll just keep taking the MRIs, and when the MRI is clear, then he’ll go,” said coach John Harbaugh in late August before McClain was placed on the reserve PUP list. “The MRI will be clear. There’s no question that at some point in time it will be clear. It’s just impossible to tell the time frame.”

Josh Bynes has manned McClain’s weakside inside linebacker position in the veteran’s absence this season.